A Boy's Journey Beyond the Panels

Divine Fox Time and an Unexpected Kiss

May 24, 2001, 7:40 AM

It was a refreshing spring day.

It may have been wrong to express it in such a simple and abstract way, but that was the first thing that came to mind when Kousaka Towa gazed up at the blue sky beyond the glass door.
He felt the gentle warmth of the spring sun caressing his skin, the mild breeze carrying the essence of blooming flowers, and the *charin-charin* sound of cycle beyond the garden, likely mothers dropping off their elementary school children. The wind whispered the soothing melody of rustling leaves and the fragrance of blossoms in the air.

Currently basking in the delight of springtime, Towa is nestled on the sofa in his new baby car seat, testing out the comfort of its reclining position.

After last night's talk with Kon, Towa is now more relaxed than ever. In his past life, time was a luxury he couldn't afford, as his schedule was packed with studying and drawing manga. It was more of an excuse due to his workaholic nature.

Today is Tuesday, a working day for his father as his leave is over. Since early morning, his father has been busy preparing breakfast for the family, while his mother, standing beside him, is packing his bento for work. It seems like policemen in Japan have yet to receive an increase in paternal leave.

"Toowaaaaa~..." came a small and spirited voice from a bit of a distance away.

Towa reflexively looked over in the direction of the voice and in that instant, Kousaka KIrino's grabbing attack approached him.

*Gyuu~* It was inevitable, his cheeks were stretched softly.

Towa had not calculated it and there was no way he could have succeeded had he tried. He had only managed to evade it before due to pure luck as Yoshino was beside him but now no one can prevent it except for one person.

"Kirino! Don't trouble Towa; let's eat breakfast. If we don't, we will be late for school. I might leave with Manami alone, so hurry up." Finally, someone responded to his plea; his big brother, Kyousuke, came to help.

"Onii-chan, no! Don't leave me alone."

(But nii-san, do you have the right to rebuke her? Aren't you yourself also poking my cheeks?) Towa complained inwardly while puffing his cheeks.

"Both of you, sit down quickly, the meal is going to get cold."

"Yeah!""Yes!"

(I feel relieved.) Towa observe both of his siblings heading towards dining table.

"At present, Kyousuke is 7 years old, and Kirino is 4 years old. The events of Oreimo commence when they are 17 and 14, respectively, implying a time gap of 10 years before the plot starts.

"Looks like Kirino is already a bro-con for Kyousuke. She follows him in a sweet way, like a duckling." Towa thinks her frolicking figure is very cute.

As for Towa, Kirino attempts to showcase her ideal onee-chan side. Even last night, she suggested sleeping alone, stating, "I am now a big sister," but ended up in Kyousuke's room.

He speculates that she initially viewed him as a doll resembling her. Sometimes, it feels like her imouto-loving otaku side is awakening earlier than before, as she doesn't hold back her affection, even stretching his cheeks. She will likely become a pampering big sister.

"Towa! Onee-chan will play with you after school, wait for me." After finishing her meal and getting ready with her bag, Kirino approaches Towa and gives a peck on his cheek.

"Babu!" Towa showing surprised reaction after a unexpected development.

"I'm off" "I am going" both of his siblings leave for school.

"I'm also going out. Be careful and don't do anything strenuous; call me if there is a problem, alright?" Daisuke, wearing a concerned look, leaves for work.

"Yes, yes. Iterasshai*[1]." Seeing off her husband, Yoshino goes to the sofa to relax and watch TV beside Towa, as she has already taken care of feeding and other tasks for Towa in the morning.

Meanwhile, Towa recalls the original plot.

In the canon event during Kirino's elementary school years, she was very fond of Kyousuke and always looked up to him. However, he started distancing himself from her to spend more time with his friends. In middle school Kyousuke stopped giving his all and adopted a more relaxed lifestyle influenced by Manami, led to a separation between the siblings, making their relationship awkward.

To get back at Kyousuke, Kirino focused on improving herself and began avoiding him. Years later, she started working as a model but also developed her otaku hobbies to fill the void left by her brother. However, she became too ashamed to share these hobbies with anyone else.

Due to the independence gained after working as a model, she was often not at home, resulting in limited interactions with the family. Kyousuke, unaware of this, found himself dealing with the increased garbage treatment.

"My existence must have brought some changes, but I don't know they're for the better or worse." Towa discovers a new dilemma in his life as the butterfly effect spirals, potentially impacting him in the most unexpected ways.

Even in a warm and loving family, time has the power to change many things. In the original plot, despite the family being good and well, the strictness of his father and the relation between his siblings made the family dynamics a bit strained. They didn't openly express their thoughts or share what they truly admired; instead, they kept it all a secret.

"OI, oi, oi, wait! I'm an otaku, but it seems like my family is looking down on that hobby," Towa exclaims as he just realizes that his parents have a negative impression of anime and otaku culture as a whole.

If this persists, then he cannot draw anymore!

"No, this can't be... Oh? Is it? Yeah... Maybe so! If I like Kirino earn enough academic credits to stop any objections, achieve something in manga, and prove to them that being a drawing artist is a good hobby, and then maybe I can...."

"Ah, commendable determination you've got there. If you manage to persuade them well, you may persist with your little pastime. But let's not get carried away, I've arrived to pick up where we left off in our discussion from last night." Kon manifested from his spirit form.

"Ah, the talk about what happened after my death."

"Indeed. I've bestowed upon you the system. Envision the status window you previously encountered; soon, the user interface shall materialize before you."

"Umu."

[User Interface refreshed.]

[Name: Kousaka Towa

Gender: Male

Age: 0(4days)

Bloodline/Affiliation: None

Alignment: Lawful Good

Epithet: - One Acknowledged by the Divine Fox, Favorite Child of Gaia

Tier: F- (Magician Apprentice)

Fundamental Spells: Foxfire, Levitation

Skill: Independent Manifestation, Natural Body

Blessing: Divine protection of Absolute Freeze]

"You possess the right to inquire about the panel and its features with the system. Pose your questions, and it shall dutifully respond to your inquiries. Do you have anything that you don't understand"

"Yes about that epithet mentions 'Divine Fox' and 'Gaia', do you know each other like she favors me for a person who has never met her and what exactly are you anyway, a god who reincarnates people across worlds?"

"Ah, indeed. I am acquainted with her. She does have a penchant for meddling in every situation. Regarding her favoritism towards you, it's intricately tied to the terms of a contract I reluctantly accepted, specifically concerning your reincarnation. As for what exactly I am and who was targeting me is a long story.

Before we delve into the story, let me tell you early that it is my first time reincarnating someone.

Now, where should I begin? Let's just cover everything, I guess.

All events preceding my arrival in your country. Yes, in your previous world, to Japan. That period was the peak of my golden age, the pinnacle of my vitality.

Prior to Japan, I found myself in 'Fagr Paradis' the sacred domain of gods where beings of divine rank convened.

I was there because I wanted to fight someone strong. What about the other gods? You can't even compare us.

Including me, many gathered to idle away time, engage in discussions, or test the waters to maintain a delicate balance.

Looking back on it now, it was a disaster. The problem wasn't because I lost, but rather the absence of someone willing to fight. No one wants to show their cards for an upper hand.

How gods come to be? Gods can't come to life without someone wishing for them, eyewitness accounts, or stories from personal experience.

Just demonstrating immortality or godly abilities at a fool's whim won't get them talking about it. You have to make kin or choose apostle which will inspire faith to increase their divinity.


I used to be hot-blooded in my younger days, so I thought all those things as nonsense and aimed to be strong on my own as I was born from an apparition you call yokai and I evolved fighting different beings in other worlds to reach godhood.

All gods get a system to give their followers or desperate souls to gain power by increasing faithful followers, but it doesn't work every time as the mortal could either die, turn towards them by betraying them to gain powers or fall into the essence of chaos. After failure, they have to use their own powers in the form of blessing, skill, or a system to give to another follower.

Chaos is like a god but not a god itself at the same time. They are an unbalancing force usurping the power of worlds to cause destruction in the multiverse. Where they evil? Not until they make problems for you, and I didn't care less at that time.

I was convinced by some of the gods to fight off the chaos for the sake of getting a good fight; that was a trap.

Among the gods, I was an oddity, without increasing followers or kin, I became stronger. That became a problem for those who were jealous of it.

I leaped between universes without listening to gods like Gaia who suggested it was a bad idea. Itching for a fight, my very own jump near shook Fagr Paradis with the recoil.

I didn't really think things through. Fighting chaos was easy; without intending to, I saved not only people but lives in a large radius.


What I didn't know was about their number; I didn't realize that... Nay, I was foolish enough to be completely ignorant of the fact that those gods were plotting something. I was busy fighting off Chaos bearers for almost a century, but out of nowhere, some gods and apostles attacked me.

Even though I defeated(killed) most of them, I was exhausted and wounded. Like bugs, those guys came again. I was already weakened; my divine power was not enough to fight them off.


So I decided to make decoy to fight off the rest of them with my remaining power, and I ran to take refuge in your world, which didn't have supernatural traces.


I ended up at the shrine from which you discovered me; it was my first time cohabitating with a mortal. Did I like it? Well, you can say so; I never lacked food or comfort. It felt like I was on a vacation.


But I had grown careless; I was not supposed to stay at one place for such a long time. After my powers recovered a bit during that time, the remnants had caught up with me, and you got involved."

○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○

References

[1] Iterasshai is a phrase in Japanese to say 'Go and come back.'

[2] Words like onii-chan, onee-chan and nii-san are words used by siblings to address each other.

[3] 'Fagr Paradis' means beautiful paradise.

○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○⚫○

If you like my work please vote and comment.